Asphalt offers outstanding binding and waterproofing characteristics. These physical attributes of asphalt have led to its widespread utilization in paving, roofing, and waterproofing applications. For instance, asphalt is used in manufacturing roofing shingles because it has the ability to bind sand, aggregate, and fillers to the roofing shingle while simultaneously providing excellent water barrier characteristics.
Naturally occurring asphalts have been used in various applications for hundreds of years. However, today almost all of the asphalt used in industrial applications is recovered from the refining of petroleum. Asphalt, or asphalt flux is essentially the residue that remains after gasoline, kerosene, diesel fuel, jet fuel, and other hydrocarbon fractions have been removed during the refining of crude oil. In other words, asphalt flux is the last cut from the crude oil refining process.
To meet performance standards and product specifications, asphalt flux that is recovered from refining operations is normally treated or processed to attain desired physical characteristics and to attain uniformity. For instance, asphalt that is employed in manufacturing roofing products has to be treated to meet the special requirements demanded in roofing applications. More specifically, in the roofing industry it is important to prevent asphaltic materials from flowing under conditions of high temperature such as those encountered during hot summers. In other words, the asphaltic materials used in roofing products should maintain a certain level of stiffness (hardness) at high temperatures. This increased level of stiffness is characterized by a reduced penetration, an increased viscosity, and an increased softening point.
To attain the required level of stiffness and increased softening point that is demanded in roofing applications the asphalt flux is typically treated by an air blowing process. In such air blowing techniques, air is blown through the asphalt flux for a period of about 2 to about 8 hours while it is maintained at an elevated temperature which is typically within the range of 400° F. (204° C.) to 550° F. (288° C.). The air blowing process optimally results in the stiffness and the softening point of the asphalt flux being significantly increased. This is highly desirable because ASTM D 3462-96 (Standard Specification for Asphalt Shingles Made from Glass Felt and Surfaced with Mineral Granules) requires roofing asphalt to have a softening point which is within the range of 190° F. (88° C.) to 235° F. (113° C.) and for the asphalt to exhibit a penetration at 77° F. (25° C.) of above 15 dmm (1 dmm=0.1 mm). In fact, it is typically desirable for asphalt used in roofing applications to have a penetration which is within the range of 15 dmm to 35 dmm in addition to a softening point which is within the range of 185° F. (85° C.) to 235° F. (113° C.).
Air blowing has been used to increase the softening point and stiffness of asphalt since the early part of the twentieth century. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,179,208 describes a process wherein asphalt is air blown at a temperature of 300° F. (149° C.) to 500° F. (260° C.) in the absence of a catalyst for a period of 1 to 30 hours after which time a catalyst is added for an additional treatment period of 20 to 300 minutes at a temperature of 225° F. (107° C.) to 450° F. (232° C.). Over the years a wide variety of chemical agents have been used as air blowing catalysts. For instance, ferric chloride, FeCl.3 (see U.S. Pat. No. 1,782,186), phosphorous pentoxide, P2O5 (see U.S. Pat. No. 2,450,756), aluminum chloride, AlCl3 (see U.S. Pat. No. 2,200,914), boric acid (see U.S. Pat. No. 2,375,117), ferrous chloride, FeCl2, phosphoric acid, H3PO4 (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,338,137), copper sulfate CuSO, zinc chloride ZnCl2, phosphorous sesquesulfide, P4S3, phosphorous pentasulfide, P2S5, and phytic acid, C6H6O6(H2PO3)6 (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,584,023) have all been identified as being useful as air blowing catalysts.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,179,208 discloses a process for manufacturing asphalts which comprises the steps of air-blowing a petroleum residuum in the absence of any added catalysts while maintaining the temperature at about 149° C. to 260° C. (300° F. to 500° F.) and then heating the material at a temperature at least about 149° C. (300° F.) with a small amount of a polymerizing catalyst. Examples of such polymerizing catalysts include chlorosulphonic, phosphoric, fluoroboric, hydrochloric, nitric or sulfuric acids and halides as ferric chloride, aluminum bromide, chloride, iodide, halides similarly of copper, tin, zinc, antimony, arsenic, titanium, etc. hydroxides of sodium, potassium, calcium oxides, sodium carbonate, metallic sodium, nitrogen bases, ozonides and peroxides. Blowing with air can then be continued in the presence of the polymerizing catalyst.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,287,511 discloses an asphalt manufacturing process which involves heating a residuum in the presence of the following catalysts: ferric chloride, aluminum bromide, aluminum chloride, aluminum iodide; halides of copper, tin, zinc, antimony, arsenic, boron, titanium; hydroxides of sodium and potassium; calcium oxides, sodium carbonate, and metallic sodium. These catalysts are described as being present in the asphalt composition in the absence of any injected air. However, air may be injected prior to the addition of the above-cited polymerizing catalysts, but no air is injected when the catalysts have been added to the composition.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,000,000 describes a process for recycling asphalt-aggregate compositions by heating and mixing them with a desired amount of petroleum hydrocarbons containing at least 55% aromatics.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,370,007 reveals a process for oxidizing asphalt which involves air blowing a petroleum oil in the presence of a relatively small amount of certain types of catalysts. These catalysts are organic complexes of metallic salts. Examples of organic complexes of metallic salts that can be used include those obtained from sludges recovered in treating petroleum fractions with metallic salts, such as metallic halides, carbonates and sulfates. The sludge obtained in treating a cracked gasoline with aluminum chloride is disclosed as being particularly suitable in accelerating the oxidation reaction and in producing an asphalt of superior characteristics. The hydrocarbon stocks from which the organic complex of metallic salts may be produced are described as including various hydrocarbon fractions containing hydrocarbons which are reactive with the metallic salts, such as those containing olefinic hydrocarbons. Sludges obtained by treating olefins with aluminum chloride are also described as being useful in the process of this 1943 patent. Other sludges that are identified as being particularly useful can be obtained in the isomerization of hydrocarbons such as butane, pentane and naphtha in the presence of aluminum chloride. These sludges can be obtained by the alkylation of isoparaffins with olefins in the presence of such alkylating catalysts, such as boron trifluoride and the like.
Several patents describe the application of phosphoric mineral acids in modifying asphalt properties. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 2,450,756 describes a process to make oxidized asphalts by air blowing petroleum hydrocarbon in the presence of a phosphorus catalyst, including phosphorus pentoxide, phosphorus sulfide, and red phosphorus. U.S. Pat. No. 2,762,755 describes a process of air blow asphaltic material in the presence of a small amount of phosphoric acid. U.S. Pat. No. 3,126,329 discloses a method of making blown asphalt through air blowing in the presence of a catalyst which is an anhydrous solution of 50 weight percent to 80 weight percent phosphorus pentoxide in 50 weight percent to 20 weight percent phosphoric acid having the general formula HmRnPO4.
In general the air blowing techniques described in the prior art share the common characteristic of both increasing the softening point and decreasing the penetration value of the asphalt flux being treated. In other words, as the asphalt flux is air blown, its softening point increases and its penetration value decreases over the duration of the air blowing procedure. It has been the conventional practice to air blow asphalt flux for a period of time that is sufficient to attain the desired softening point and penetration value. However, in the case of some asphalt fluxes, air blowing to the desired softening point using conventional procedures results in a penetration value which is too low to be suitable for utilization in roofing applications. These asphalt fluxes are called “hard asphalt fluxes”. In other words, hard asphalt fluxes cannot be air blown using conventional procedures to a point where both the required softening point and penetration values are attained. Accordingly, there is a need for techniques that can be used to air blow hard asphalt flux to both a softening point which is within the range of 185° F. (85° C.) to 250° F. (121° C.) and a penetration value at 77° F. (25° C.) of above 15 dmm.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,659,389 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,544,411 disclose the preparation of satisfactory asphaltic roofing fluxes from otherwise unsatisfactory fluxes which involves the addition of asphaltenes, and saturates in quantities which satisfy certain specified conditions. Air oxidation of the flux is described in these patents as being surprisingly accelerated by the addition of highly branched saturates, especially in the presence of a carbonate oxidation catalyst. Some examples of saturates which are described in these patents as being useful in the method described therein include slack wax, petrolatums, hydrocarbyl species, and mixtures thereof.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,901,563 discloses a method for preparing an industrial asphalt comprising (1) heating an asphalt flux to a temperature which is within the range of about 400° F. (204° C.) to 550° F. (288° C.) to produce a hot asphalt flux, (2) sparging an oxygen containing gas through the hot asphalt flux for a period of time which is sufficient to increase the softening point of the asphalt flux to a value of at least 100° F. (38° C.), to produce an underblown asphalt composition; and (3) mixing a sufficient amount of a polyphosphoric acid throughout the underblown asphalt composition while the underblown asphalt composition is maintained at a temperature which is within the range of 200° F. (93° C.) to 550° F. (288° C.) to attain a softening point which is within the range of 185° F. (85° C.) to 250° F. (121° C.) and a penetration value of at least 15 dmm at 77° F. (25° C.) to produce the industrial asphalt. The techniques disclosed in this patent is useful in that it can be used to increase the softening point of hard asphalt flux to a commercially desirable level while maintaining the penetration value of the asphalt above 15 dmm at 77° F. (25° C.). Accordingly, this technique can be used to produce industrial asphalt having a desirable softening point and penetration value using hard asphalt flux as the starting material.